A narrow concrete bridge crosses a canal lined with banana trees and palms in the Mekong Delta.

Themes

Ride the flat parts, van the rest

Vietnam is a good country to cycle in selected pieces and a poor one to cycle end to end. Our cycling trips ride the lanes, dykes and valleys that are worth it and put the bikes on the van for the highways.

Plan my trip

Overview

What a cycling trip here really is

Nobody who has driven Highway 1 wants to cycle it. It carries the country’s trucks and coaches, it is hot, and for long stretches it is not pretty. The good cycling is off it: the concrete lanes of the Mekong Delta, one bicycle wide and shaded by coconut palms; the paddy roads around Hoi An; the tomb road south of Hue; the valleys of Mai Chau and the karst country around Ninh Binh. These are short, flat or rolling, and full of life.

So our cycling days are graded pieces joined by transfers. A typical riding day is 25 to 50 kilometres, starts early, stops for lunch, and is over before the worst of the heat. The van follows or meets you at set points with water, fruit, spare tubes and room for anyone who wants to stop. On a two-week trip, riding days are usually six to eight of the fourteen.

A cyclist rides past a grazing cow on a rural concrete path through the Hoi An countryside.

The flat country between Hoi An and the sea, ridden before ten in the morning.

The trips

Trips with riding days

The collection runs from a single morning in Ben Tre to two weeks with riding days in each region. Each tour page gives the distance and terrain for every ride.

A narrow dirt path winds through dense coconut palms and tropical greenery in the Mekong Delta.

Day tour · from USD 65

Cycling the Ben Tre lanes

Thirty flat kilometres of coconut lanes, with the boat doing the long crossings.

A boy stands on a wooden plank walkway beside a muddy canal lined with thatched houses in the Mekong Delta.

2 days · from USD 175

A delta homestay, two days

An Binh island, a family house, a night without traffic noise.

Aerial view of Hue Imperial City's illuminated gate and moat at dusk, surrounded by green parkland.

3 days · from USD 325

Hue, the imperial city

The citadel, the tombs by boat and bicycle, and the food of the old court.

A cyclist pauses on a countryside path beside lotus ponds near Trà Quế vegetable village in Hoi An.

3 days · from USD 425

Hoi An by bicycle

Vegetable villages, the river islands and Cua Dai, all flat and all before lunch.

Tourists in life jackets ride a small wooden boat along a green river surrounded by limestone hills in Ninh Binh.

2 days · from USD 245

Ninh Binh, a night in the karsts

Rowing boats through caves at Trang An and a night among the limestone.

A thatched-roof stilt house sits among green vegetable fields with limestone mountains behind it in Mai Chau.

2 days · from USD 255

Mai Chau valley

A White Thai valley three and a half hours from Hanoi, a stilt house and bicycles.

Cyclists ride a quiet road beneath hazy limestone karsts near rice fields in Ninh Binh.

14 days · from USD 2195

Vietnam by bicycle, 14 days

Riding days in the delta, the centre and the northern valleys, with a van behind.

Grades

How we grade the riding

Grade	Distance per day	Terrain	Examples
Easy	15 to 30 km	Flat, paved lanes, frequent stops	Ben Tre, Hoi An countryside
Moderate	30 to 50 km	Rolling, some short climbs, a few gravel stretches	Hue tomb road, Ninh Binh, Mai Chau
Demanding	50 to 80 km	Long climbs, northern passes, heat	Sections of the north on request

We grade by hours in the saddle and height climbed, not by adjectives. An easy day suits anyone who rides a bicycle at home, including children from about ten on their own bikes and younger ones in a child seat or on a tag-along where we can arrange it. Moderate days suit people who ride regularly. The demanding days in the north are real mountain climbing, and the van is always there to take anyone to the top of a pass.

Practical

Heat, bikes and helmets

Heat decides everything. In the south it is hot all year, so we start at seven and finish by eleven or noon. In the centre, February to April is the most comfortable riding; from May to August it is fierce, and from October to December the rain and floods come. The north is best in October and November and again in March and April; December and January are cool and grey in the mountains but good for riding in the lowlands around Ninh Binh.

Rental bicycles in Vietnam range from very good to unrideable. For multi-day trips our partners supply maintained hybrid or mountain bikes with front suspension, in a range of frame sizes, checked each morning. Riders over about 1.90 metres should tell us early, since large frames are scarce. Many regular cyclists bring their own saddle and pedals, which we fit. Helmets are provided and worn on every ride. Vietnamese law does not require them on a bicycle; we do.

Small boats drift along a winding river through golden rice fields beneath limestone karsts near Ninh Binh.

Farmers guide a water buffalo to plow a flooded rice field against the mountains of Mai Chau valley.

Ninh Binh on a winter morning: flat, cool and lined with karst. · Mai Chau: rice, stilt houses and very little traffic.

Trade-offs

What changes, and who should not come

Guides: a riding guide who knows the lanes and can fix a chain at the roadside, plus a driver for the van. On some days we add a second rider for mixed-pace groups.
Hotels: similar tiers, chosen for a quiet night and an early breakfast, which not every hotel will serve at half past six.
Costs: the bikes, the support van and the riding guide are the extra. They replace some private-car time, so the difference is smaller than people expect.
What we drop: afternoon sightseeing on riding days. You will want a shower and a rest.

A cycling trip does not suit people who have not ridden a bicycle in years and hope the trip will get them fit. It does not suit anyone who dislikes mixing with traffic, because even the quiet lanes have motorbikes, buffalo and children on the way home from school. And it does not suit a group where one person wants to ride fifty kilometres a day and another wants fifteen, unless we plan two groups with two vehicles from the start.

Checklist

Checklist before a riding trip

Padded shorts and gloves; the lanes are smooth but the days add up.
Your own saddle and pedals if you are particular about them.
A lightweight long-sleeved top for sun, not only for cold.
Your height and inside-leg measurement, sent to us for frame size.
Travel insurance that covers cycling as an activity.

Common questions

Questions travellers ask most

Can non-riders in the group come along?

Yes. The support van carries them and meets the riders at each stop, and we plan the lunch stops somewhere both halves of the group will enjoy.

Do you offer electric bikes?

In Hoi An and around Hanoi we can often find them; elsewhere supply is patchy. Ask when you book and we will tell you honestly where they are available.

What happens if it rains?

Light rain is pleasant on a hot day, and we ride in it. Heavy rain or flooded lanes mean the van takes over and we swap the ride for something indoors.